Cautious RTL delivers three-fold profit increase

RTL Group has reported increased revenues of 8.4% in 2010 on the back of strong growth in advertising revenues, but CEO Gerhard Zeiler is remaining tight-lipped on the prospects for the next 12 months.

Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, Groupe M6, RTL Nederland and RTL Belgium all made significant contributions to the €5,591 million in revenues that led to an EBITA up 39.6% at €1,111 million. Profits of €611 million were almost triple those of 2009.

“RTL Group’s outstanding results of 2010 reflect a stronger than expected rebound in the Western European TV advertising markets, the enduring impact of our significant cost savings in 2009 and the leading market positions of our families of channels in our key territories. In other words: we’ve capitalised on the economic recovery because our TV channels emerged stronger from the crisis than before,” said Zeiler. However, despite the strong rebound, Zeiler said he remained both cautious and optimistic on the growth prospects for the industry as a whole.

In new media, RTL Group’s online platforms and on demand offers across Europe generated 1.4 billion video views between them. Whilst on their own such numbers can be seen as meaningless, the 46% increase in views and 41% rise in online advertising revenue is significant.

Pay-TV channels in Germany, France and the Netherlands are operating at a profit.

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About Julian Clover

Julian Clover is a Media and Technology journalist based in Cambridge, UK. He works in online and printed media. Julian is also a voice on local radio. You can talk to Julian on Twitter @julianclover, on Facebook or by email at jclover@broadbandtvnews.com.

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